Crate



NGV, l, 1949- P. D. FRIDAY ET Ax.

CRATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March '7, 1945 VvE/V TOR5 FTORNV .New l, 1949. p D, FRIDAY ETAL 2,486,709

CRATE Filed March?, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 1, ..1949

CRATE Paul D. Friday and Theodore H. Miller, Portland, Oreg.

Application March 7, 1945, Serial No. 581,446

3 Claims. l

This invention relates generally to the shipping and storing of merchandise and particularly to a container.

The main object of this invention is to develop a container in the form of a crate in which all of the members are made from the same type of material, having identical cross section, preferably in the form of a right angle triangle which, when joined to a similar section, forms a second triangle. v The second object is to construct a crate of a plurality of identically shaped pieces of varying length by uniting same in a developed form and then folding the pieces -in the form of a hollow square whereby the adjacent pieces become closely knit and bound together, thereby providing the maximum amount of strength for the crate.

The third object is to make the box to utilize cull lumber in that the component parts are of relatively small cross section and if a flaw occurs in one it is not apt to occur in the adjacent piece at a directly opposite point.

The fourth object is to construct a crate of the class described which will be capable of receiving fruit trays having over-al1 dimensions equaling the over-all dimensions of the crate.

The fifth object is to devise a crate which will be especially adaptable to the fruit supporting trays described in United States patent of Paul D. Friday,-No. 2,351,754.

The sixth object is to devise a crate in which the corners are mitered and in which only one mitering cut is employed for both ends of all of the pieces in the crate.

The seventh object is to so construct the crate that it will be capable of resisting a maximum of cross strains and vibrations without injury to the crate or its contents.

We accomplish these and further objects inA a manner set forth in the following specification as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the completed case.

Fig. 2 is a plan showing the top, bottom and side members as they are assembled in flat form.

Fig. 2A is an end view of the top, bottom and side members as they are assembed in flat form.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 3 3 in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of one of the component strips showing one of the shorter sides of the triangularly shaped material.

Fig. `5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the hypotenuse side of the material.

Fig. 6 is an end View of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is an end view of the crate, showing a modified form of bracing.

Fig. 8 is a plan of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a section taken along the line 9--9 in Fig. 10, illustrating a modified form of the device, but showing a screw for clamping the parts together. v

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of one of the crate corners illustrated in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a preferred form of reinforcement for the corners.

Fig. l2 is a plan of the blank fromvwhich the corner is formed.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary section showing use of intermediate braces.

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary view showing a modied form of the bracing.

Similar numerals refer throughout the several views.

Referring in detail to the drawing, it will be noted in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 that one of the units or pieces I0 is triangular in cross section, in which the sides II and'l2 are normal-to each other while the third side I3 forms equal angles with the sides II and I2. The end I4 is beveled at 45 degrees, regardless of the size or shape of the crate to be formed.

It will be noted that any four pieces I0 will form a rectangular frame, the joints of which are preferably glued, although 'they may be fastened by any other convenient means depending upon the type of box and the purpose for which it is to be used. Four of these frames are normally assembled as shown in Fig. 2, in which the edges I5 are hingedly joined by means of the staples I6 or by any other convenient hinge, such as adhesive tape. When the four frames shown in Fig. 2 are folded into a square, they are ready to receive the end frame I'I which is similarly constructed. Any one side of the container is left unsecured at its hinge member I6 until the box is lled, after which this side may be suitably secured by staples, bails, tapes, tying, or any other means.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. '7, cross braces I8 are placed across the corners of the frames and secured thereto by the nails I9. The purpose of the ties I8 is to prevent racking of the container, thereby greatly adding to its to similar parts strength and life.

In some cases, it may be found desirable to employ internal metal corners 20 and external metal corners 2|, which are joined by means of the metal screw 22, the purpose of which is obviously to prevent the expansion of the members l at the points 23. Obviously, the corners 20 and 2| may be provided with barbs 24, if desired.

Owing to the fact that the uses to which this container may be applied are so varied, no attempt is made to show a variety of applications, It can be seen from the foregoing that regardless of the size of the box or container to be produced, only one type of material is required, and this is triangular in shape, as stated,1an'd varies only in the length, the shape of the ends to be always the same. Since each member of the crate is made of two separate pieces of wood, rmly bound along their outermost corners, they become in eect one piece and any defect which exists in one pieceA Will not seriously impair the structure at a given point, since it is improbable that two pieces picked at random will have a similar defect at the samepoint.

As stated in the objects of the invention, one of the characteristics of the box is that its interior dimension is equivalent to its external dimension. That is, it is capable of supporting a tray whose over-all dimensions are the same as the outermost dimensions of the crate, and this is due to the fact that the trays 25, which are indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, are cut across the corners` 26, which provides clearance for the members I0.

In Fig. 11 is shown a modied form of the corner construction in which the members I0 are reinforced at their points of union by means of a piece of breboard 21, which is generally rectangular in form and cut away along the sides 28 and scored along the dotted lines 29, where it isfolded `to form the edges of the reinforcement member. The choice of material in the member 21 is preferably one having a perceptible grain 30 running along the lines indicated in the drawing in order to provide the maximum strength along the lines 29. The members 21 are secured in position by means of the staples 3|, with or without the aid of an adhesive, as desired.

- In Figs. 13 and 14, the members Ill are supported between the ends thereof and the contents of the crate further protected by means of the slats 32.

In Fig. 15 is shown a further modication in which the intermediate braces 33 are seated bemembers I0 or in diagonal relationship thereto, depending upon the type of crate upon which they are to be used, the kind of material available and the service desired therefrom.

While we have thus illustrated and described our invention, it is not our desire to be limited to the precise form shown herein, and we intend to cover such forms and modifications of the invention as fall fairly within the appended claims.

We claim: A

1. A crate consisting of six rectangular frame members, each consisting of four pieces of wood joined to form a rectangle, the cross section of each piece being in the form of an isosceles right angle. triangle with all the hypothenuse sides of all of the pieces of each individual frame being in the same plane and defining the outer faces l of the crate.

yles

tween the ends of the members IIJ and in some cases, further reinforced by means of the slats 32. The slats 32 may either be placed normal to the 2. A crate having a set of four frames arranged in series with their adjacent edges stapled together to form an enclosure in which each corner consists of two right triangular pieces having their outermost edges joined and their innermost edges held in contact by the formation oi said closure; the hypothenuse sides of all of the pieces defining the outer faces of the crate.

3. A crate consisting of a plurality of corner members, characterized by having each member composed of two right triangular pieces of Wood, the hypothenuse sides of the two pieces forming a right angular exterior for the corner and means for joining the two parts along one edge which form the outermost edge of. the corner member.

PAUL D. FRIDAY. THEODORE H. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record` inthe file of this patent? UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 378,601 Linderman Feb. 28, 1888 915,113 Riddle Mar. 16, 1909 1,070,591 Fassnacht Aug. 19', 191'3v 1,128,252' Inwood et al Feb. 9, 19'15" 1,283,079 Cochrane Oct. 29, 1918 1,316,194 Schalk Sept. 16, 1919 1,966,875 Tufts July 17, 1934 2,030,979v Fuller Feb. 18, 1936r 2,332,652 MacKenzier Oct. 26, 1943-' 2,371,493 Aschinger Mar. 13, 1945 FOREIGNy PATENTS Number Country Date 11,347 Great Britain 1904 537,622 Great Britain June 30, 1941 

